Czech philosopher and writer Erazim Kohak, a professor at Charles University in Prague, will visit Gustavus Adolphus College Sept. 14-16. Kohak will speak at the College’s daily worship service on Monday, Sept. 14 and give two public lectures on the evenings of Sept. 14-15.
Forced to flee his native Czechoslovakia after the Communist takeover of 1948, Kohak spent four decades living in exile in the United States before returning to his homeland in 1989. Kohak taught in the Department of Philosophy at Gustavus in the late 1950s before moving on to a long and distinguished career at Boston University. Following the Velvet Revolution, Kohak returned to the Czech Republic where he is considered one of that nation’s most renowned public intellectuals.
Kohak holds a bachelor’s degree from Colgate University and a master’s degree and PhD from Yale University. He is the author of many books including The Embers and the Stars and The Green Halo.
While at Gustavus, Kohak will meet with several classes and facilitate a group discussion of his book, The Embers and the Stars. He will give two free public lectures, including “When Democracy is Not Enough,” at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, and “Will to History” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15. Both lectures will be held in room 103 of the F.W. Olin Hall for Physics, Mathematics, and Computer Science.
Anyone with questions about Kohak’s visit to Gustavus can contact Professor of Philosophy Deane Curtin at 507-933-7644 or curtin@gustavus.edu.
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